WhatsApp auto reply: how to set a greeting and away message

Auto reply belongs to the WhatsApp Business app, a separate free app. The regular WhatsApp app does not offer it. Once installed, you have four tools for answering customers faster.

• Greeting message: sent automatically when a customer messages you for the first time, or after a long gap.
• Away message: sent automatically when you are unavailable, for example at night.
• Quick replies: short saved messages that you send yourself by typing a shortcut. These are not automatic.
• Labels: tags (shown as lists in some versions) that sort chats, such as New or Paid.

Each one uses text you write once. None of them reads what the customer wrote.

1. 1Open the WhatsApp Business app and tap the Tools tab (on some phones it is under the three-dot menu).
2. 2Tap Greeting message and turn on Send greeting message.
3. 3Tap the message to edit it, write your text, and save.
4. 4Choose who receives it: everyone, everyone not in your contacts, everyone except selected chats, or only selected chats.
5. 5Go back to Tools, tap Away message and turn on Send away message.
6. 6Edit the message text and save.
7. 7Choose when it sends: always, on a custom schedule, or outside your business hours.

Two conditions apply. The greeting goes to a customer who messages for the first time, and again after 14 days without messages. Your phone also needs an internet connection for either message to send.

The away message can send outside your business hours, once you have entered those hours in your business profile. Set the hours in the profile first, then choose the schedule on the away message screen.

State your real hours and what happens overnight. A seller who packs parcels only in the morning should say so. "We reply from 10am" is precise and credible. A message that implies help is arriving now is not.

Quick replies remove repeated typing. They are not automatic. WhatsApp's help page states that you can store up to 50.

1. 1In the WhatsApp Business app, open the Tools tab and tap Quick replies.
2. 2Tap the plus (+) icon.
3. 3Tap Message and write your text.
4. 4Tap Shortcut and set a short word, for example "price".
5. 5Tap Save.
6. 6In any chat, type / and choose the quick reply. Edit it if needed, then send.

Labels sort your chats. In WhatsApp's newer rollout, labels are called lists, so you may see Tools, then Lists, then Add new list. You can create up to 20. If the older label menu still shows on your phone, use that. A clean starting set is New, Waiting for payment, Paid and Delivered.

A good message is short. It says who you are, what the customer should do next, and when they will hear back.

Replace the hours with your real ones before you save.

• The text is fixed. It cannot answer "is this in stock?" or "what is the price of the red one?".
• It cannot take an order, bargain or ask for a payment.
• The greeting does not repeat inside an ongoing chat. After it, you or your team must reply.
• It may not send if the phone is offline, or if a recipient filter excludes the customer.

The Business app is enough while you handle a few chats a day and a person answers soon after. Once customers ask about price, stock or delivery at all hours, or several people must answer from one number, fixed messages no longer carry the load.

The official route to real automation is the WhatsApp Business Platform, where software connects through WhatsApp's own channel. WhatsApp Business automation explains how it works and what changes. For the same idea on other channels, see Messenger auto reply and Instagram auto reply.

LeadRevive is our product. WhatsApp's own greeting and away messages are free and well suited to a first hello. LeadRevive takes over from there. Once connected, the AI replies in Bangla, English or Banglish from your products and Business Knowledge. A Sales Agent handles the chat and a Payment & Collections Agent asks for the advance. You can take over any chat yourself. Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp share one inbox. See features, pricing or get started.